Opting to colocate rather than retrofit or build a new data centre, Repsol recently completed installation of its 120-teraflop Kaleidoscope Supercomputer within CyrusOne's ultra high-density data centre in Houston. This centre is designed for highest-density, mission-critical, 100 percent uptime performance, underpinning CyrusOne's ability to provide Repsol with an intrinsically-scalable architecture that incorporates maximum redundancy protocols and highly efficient "green" power usage.

This installation directly supports Repsol's production environment for processing Reverse Time Migration (RTM) seismic imaging algorithms generated by Kaleidoscope. RTM technology leverages highly advanced subsurface imaging capabilities, delivering unparalleled precision and enabling Repsol and its partners to search for oil fields at greater depths, up to ten times faster than conventional technology currently being used in the industry. Kaleidoscope makes this possible because of its pioneering computing design.

This unique supercomputer is powered by 600 IBM PowerXCell 8i processors distributed in eight standard hardware cabinets that occupy a mere 22 square feet of floor space, a huge reduction in hardware scale considering that Kaleidoscope delivers computing power equivalent to the combined efforts of over 10,000 best-in-class CPUs. Operating at 750 watts per square foot, Kaleidoscope's power efficiency is measured at 0.9 gigaflops-per-watt. These are capabilities that only a select few colocation providers are equipped to meet.

The design and intrinsic efficiency of Kaleidoscope's ultra high-density core decreases the amount of required hardware square footage by more than 80 percent, but the challenge, as CyrusOne senior vice president Blake McLane noted, is locating a top-tier colocation provider that can meet power and cooling infrastructure requirements at 750 watts per square foot. By successfully consolidating Kaleidoscope's high-powered system architecture into a relatively small footprint, Repsol was able to achieve its goal of a green, environmentally-conscious installation.

"At 750 watts per square foot, high-density colocation proved to be the optimal solution for Repsol from a technical, practical and economical point of view", Blake McLane stated. "In the short term, the evolution of the PowerXCell 8i processor will increase by four times the computing power within the same footprint. This additional power, however, requires a robust data centre infrastructure that can support maximum power and cooling. We recognize this installation as the start of a trend of ultra-dense green supercomputers that will lead to affordable peta-scale capacity in the near future."

Kaleidoscope technology reveals new opportunities in seismic exploration. Kaleidoscope is the frontrunner of an emerging class of seismic technology that will enable Repsol to locate oil reserves buried thousands of feet below the seabed. Discovering these reserves could yield billions of barrels of oil and natural gas. These oil reserves are, however, difficult to find and reach due to the extreme depths of the "ultradeep water" zone, as it is known in the oil industry, as well as thick layers of salt that impede the visualization of oil-bearing sands underneath using conventional seismic imaging technology. Ultradeep water represents the most challenging frontier in petroleum exploration, and the Kaleidoscope Project's technological advances in earth imaging provide an opportunity to penetrate that frontier, yielding strong competitive advantages.

"The Kaleidoscope Project redefines subsurface imaging capabilities, moving from a standard of approximations and best-guesses due to lack of computing power to one of precise algorithms designed for a new generation of processors. This opens up new commercial opportunities in hard-to-reach subsurface regions around the world", stated Francisco Ortigosa, Repsol's chief geophysicist and project leader. "To meet the Kaleidoscope Supercomputer's ultra-dense requirements and guarantee optimal installation and future-proof performance, we needed a colocation solution that delivered superior high-density capabilities across the board."